I was like you once… I believed myself unstoppable, for if someone doesn’t fear death, then nothing can stop them. But there is more than one type of death. I know that now. I went to that place and managed to return. Shame: shame can be far worse than death.” When difficult realities are not included in art, sometimes it’s because they make for hard reading/viewing. Is this a good thing or not? Are we ignoring issues that need fixing by not having these conversations? In my opinion, it’s not good to sweep things under the carpet, that only leads to more suffering. El libro está narrado desde cuatro puntos de vista de personajes que la pasan muy mal, a tal punto que me hizo sentir incómodo por los horrores que les toca vivir y eso que estoy muy acostumbrado a los libros grimdark. Despite the similarities, Ardalan’s world is a lot darker than anything in Sanderson’s universe. This is grimdark fantasy after all, and Eleventh Cycle doesn’t shy away from the dark realities of war, reaching a level of despair and brutality on par with R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War. Then it came as a scream, a scream which worked its way through my belly and burst from my lips like a shredding storm evoked by the caustic mists."

I absolutely loved Eleventh Cycle. A great Soulsborne (this includes Sekiro and Elden Ring) inspired fantasy novels, surprisingly and also understandably, are not as common as you might think. Countless stories could be created through being inspired by the video game franchise, but it is far from being an easy task to do right. The Soulsborne franchise is often known for its complex and intimidating storyline and difficulty. Non-players of Soulsborne tend to think we gamers are masochists when we constantly play, rage, and love playing these challenging games. But that is not the case. These games teach you to be careful; do not play carelessly. They teach you that repetition and learning are keys to success. They teach you to always pay attention to your surroundings. More importantly, these games teach you that you CAN overcome adversities in life with perseverance. That high-level satisfaction feeling you get when you overcome difficult bosses in these games is utterly rewarding and missing from many games lately. And my point is this. There are MANY things to love in these games (a single review won’t be enough to cover the details of it). At the same time, Eleventh Cycle managed to capture many of them, including one of the main essences of the recurring themes of Dark Souls games: perseverance in the face of injustice and a bleeding world. Eleventh Cycle is one of the best books I read in 2022. It’s a tale about relatable characters struggling to find a place in a downright Lovecraftian world, and clashing with institutions that were built by the elder gods themselves. Institutions that are not meant to serve humanity, but whatever the elders’ strange aims are. Eleventh Cycle combines the strange and enigmatic lore of Dark Souls with the difficult lives of mortal men, and then manages to make the mortals seem the more enigmatic part. The five point-of-view characters act; sometimes emotionally, sometimes inconsistently, sometimes with flagrant foolishness, and yet never unbelievably. This is the core of the story.

See a Problem?

NSFW time: The sex scenes were incredibly embarrassing. I think it's difficult to right something erotic at all unless you're Hemingway, and I wish authors would stop trying to write such detailed scenes. This is made worse when all of the sex our protagonists engage in is from a female first-person perspective written by a male author. Eleventh Cycle also ran into the same problem I had with Berserk and what happened to Casca. I don't need a detailed rape scene, and why is this strong woman turned into a blubbering fool by it? I get that it's supposed to be dark or whatever, but it feels cheap even if the author insists it's not. When he wasn’t playing video games or reading novels (mostly Darren Shan and Anthony Horowitz) or trying to convince his parents to watch that R-rated movie about vampires and werewolves, he delved into fantasy worlds of his own making.

Eleventh Cycle is a gritty, grimdark fantasy novel with a huge list of trigger warnings (provided by the author), so not for the faint of heart! If Dark Souls, Hollow Knight, Berserk and Joe Abercrombie had a child, they would have called it “Eleventh Cycle”. It’s a grim and dark story, and I recommend reading the content warning at the beginning to get a feel for what’s to come. Another element in this book that kept me completely glued to the story was the growing conflict between those who claimed to be the rightful "civilized" inhabitants of the continent and the Akar, who are viewed as feral creatures continually in need of being brought to heel and tamed. But it becomes increasingly clear that the Akar are no longer the unorganized rabble that everyone has always assumed they were and as events begin to play out it becomes evident that they may not exactly be content to isolate themselves in the dark recesses of the forest any longer. Will they rise up? Only time will tell. I will say I was not a fan of the spice/smut, nor the like genuine chapter of phallic descriptions, but not everything is for everyone. It’s no secret that I have struggled to continue past book 5 in this 14-book epic fantasy series, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s worth reading. I actually love all four books I have read so far, I just feel like it becomes a bit repetitive further on.The narrators of this audiobook did a fantastic job with it, both were able to give their 2-4 POV characters unique voices and characterization by performance alone. Jessica Threet especially did an outstanding job, but it was A/A+ performances throughout. I took my leave from my official duties, passing them to my lieutenant as I wandered most of my day in deep thought. As the hours passed, I made my way to my parent's chambers."

Eleventh Cycle by Kian N. Ardalan is the first book in his Mistland series, and one of the more difficult books I’ve read when it comes to putting together my thoughts for a review.I am a fan of self-pub fantasy, Berserk, and FromSoft games so I was excited about this book because of those elements. Each of these characters is broken in some way, and has to find their own hope and redemption. I won't spoil anything, but Ardalan really puts these characters through the ringer. A few points there I forgot to breathe, and kept reading to find out what happened next, just so I could take a breath.